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February came and went pretty quickly, thankfully, but there were some new music releases that made the month a little less sucky. Here’s some of the stuff I jammed to in February.

Starfucker Miracle Mile. Starfucker, usually stylized as STRFKR, are a pop-electronica band from Portland who first hit the scene in 2008. I’ve been following them since I heard their song “Bury Us Alive” from their album 2011 album Reptilians, and they follow that up with the dance-y Miracle Mile, which features 15 jaunty songs. That sounds like a lot, but the songs like “YA YA YA” and “Fortune’s Fool” go by pretty fast. Lead single “When I’m Alive” is tailor made for the radio and I guess if they wanted to a Foster The People, they could, but I think they achieve their goal of being a band that has music that is interesting and fun to dance to. Listen to and buy the album from Polyvinyl Records and iTunes.

Praise the Lord, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are back! They’ve been a long hiatus since 2009’s It’s Blitz, although we’ve gotten some solo and side projects from frontwoman Karen O. They return with the powerful new single “Sacrilege” which takes you to church around 2:18. This is much different than their previous work but i’m excited about this new direction they’re going in. Their album Mosquito will be released in the UK on April 15 and on April 16 in the US. I’m sure we’ll be talking about it when the time comes, for now you can pre-order the album and buy the single on iTunes.

AlunaGeorge is an English duo made up of Aluna Francis and George Reid. I discovered them last year with their EP You Know You Like It which perfectly blended trip-hop beats with Aluna’s light, R&B-ish voice. They kicked off the year with a collaboration with Disclosure on “White Noise,” and are giving us a taste of what their full length album will be like. Body Music won’t be released until July, and I hope “Attracting Flies” is a preview of how good it will be. Listen to the song on Soundcloud.

2013 is only a month old, but I’ve been enjoying some much anticipated releases, leaving me with the hope that this will be an exciting year for music.

A$AP Rocky ‘LONG.LIVE.A$AP’ Chances are you probably copped a leak of this late last year, but it’s official release was January 15, and it quickly to #1 on three Billboard charts and solidified Mr. Rocky has one of hip-hops newest stars. The album is full of guest stars, including 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar and even Florence Welch, but A$AP doesn’t let them outshine him on his debut which features smooth cuts like the first single “Goldie.” Some collaborations, like Skrillex on “Wild For The Night,” oddly work while others like Santigold, whom I usually love, on “Hell” miss the mark. He’s fine all by himself on “Fashion Killa” working in references to designers like Isabel Marant and the always popular Tom Ford. With ‘Long Live,’ A$AP easily became one of my favorite rappers, and it doesn’t hurt that he has a mega-watt smile. Buy it on iTunes

Blood Red Shoes ‘Water-EP’ BRS released the heavy ‘In Time To Voices’ last year, but come back even harder with three songs I hope are a preview for what’s to come from them. Usually guitarist Laura-Mary Carter handles most of the vocals but drummer Steven Ansell takes over on the White Stripes-ish “Black Distractions” and slightly dark “Idle Hands.” I’m excited to see what else they’ll deliver this year but this will do for now. Buy on iTunes

The Joy Formidable ‘Wolf’s Law’ Much like BRS, The Joy Formidable sound much bigger than their three members, offering up crunchy rock riffs with interesting and somehwhat ethereal lyrics. They made a big splash in 2011 with their debut ‘The Big Roar’ and instantly garnered my attention with singles like “Whirring.” On ‘Wolf’s Law’ the band experiments with new sounds and the influence of nature and social issues is evident on songs like “The Leopard and The Lung,” with the opening track and lead single “This Ladder Is Ours” setting the epic tone for the album. What really makes the songs for me are Ritzy Bryan‘s vocals, and how can you not like a blonde, pixie-ish lead singer named Ritzy? Buy on iTunes!